Southtown Star from Tinley Park, Illinois • 69

0 4 tod (S3 on Five (Sup See page B2 JSt. ECTIO "CxA It i VC FOOD i i i- Wiapww 1J 4m mmum A y'-- i 1 J. Sweet as Earl Hiller, of Garden Patch Farms in Homer Glen, picks Honey-crisp apples in his orchard. PHOTOS BY BRETT ROSEMAN TASTY BITES Apple bytes Two pounds of apples make one 9-mch pie. 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States.

7,500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world. Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free. A medium apples is about 80 calories. Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin. One apple has five grams of fiber.

The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, The science of apple growing is called pomology. Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit. Most apples are still picked by hand in the fall. The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspian and the Black Sea. Apples were the favorite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans.

Apples are a member of the rose family. 25 percent of an apple's volume is air. That is why they float. It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple. In colonial hme apples were called winter banana or melt-in-the-mouth.

Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds. Worlds top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy.

The Lady or Api apple is one of the oldest varieties in existence. Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated. Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since at least 6500 B.C. The apple variety Red Delicious is the most widely grown in the United States with 62 million bushels harvested in 2005. October is National Apple Month.

SOURCE. USDA NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE AND THE UNITED STATES APPLE ASSOCIATION BY DONNA VICKROY (708)633 5982 DVICKR0Y50UTHT0WNSTAR COM HAIL THE HONEYCRISP In addition to some supermarkets, here are some places to find them: Brandau Farmstand 10544 W. 191st Mokena (708)4797575. Just Picked Farm Stand 8200 W. 171st Tintey Park (708) 927-9038 Knutsons Country Harvest 13550 Townhouse Road, Newark (815) 695-5905 Royal Oak Farm and Fruit Orchard 15908 Hebron Road, Harvard (815) 648-4141 Plank Road Apple Orchard 50w737 Plank Road, Sycamore (815) 899-4020 Tanners Orchard 740 Illinois 40, Speer (309)493-5442 Tart.

Sweet. Crunchy. Juicy. Honeycrisp apples wait for their faithful followers to snatch them up. Its been called the gold of the apple orchard.

The New York Times dubbed it the iPod of apples. Tart. Sweet. Crunchy. And oh so juicy.

Its the Honeycrisp apple, of course. And when its moment in the sun finally arrives, people around these parts make haste. They bite tart but go down sweet. The perfect crunch, explained father-of-two Jeff Kraft. My autumn doesnt officially start until Ive taken home my first peck of them.

Bonni Pear, owner of Miller-Pear Communications, said her family does a seasonal happy dance the first time we see them on the grocers shelves. And Earl Hiller, co-owner of Garden Patch Farms in Homer Glen, confirmed, The Honeycrisp is the best new apple to hit the market in 20 years. Theyre crispy, juicy, with a jump-out-at-you taste. Customers start calling in late August, wanting to know when the crop will be ready, which typically isnt until mid- to late-September. Garden Patch Farms has them, at least it did at press time.

But Hiller recommends if youve got your heart set on Honeycrisps, you best call ahead and you best get a move on. Even though theyve been spied at local supermarkets, their presence is not guaranteed. Neither is their freshness. People who know apples know the Honeycrisp, Jim Brandau said. And they can tell if one has been fresh picked or if its been in the cooler for a few weeks.

Theyre best if eaten within three too four days of picking, said Brandau, who buys Honeycrisps from local orchards and sells them at the farmstand hes owned in Mokena for 26 years. When asked if people go a bit crazy over them, he chuckles. Theyre kind of like Jolly Rancher candies, sweet and tart at the same time, he said. And possibly addicting? Customers are willing to pay up to three times the cost of other varieties, Brandau said. Ask Tom Gawley about the theyre kind of like Jolly Rancher candies, sweet and tart at the same time honeycrisp and the owner of Just Picked Farm Stand in Tinley Park will grab one, wash it off and offer up a slice.

Its delicious, he said. People love it. Dennis Knutson, owner of Knutsons Country Harvest in Newark said his place will have the apples in the store, but not for u-pick customers. Not this year, anyway. The winter was awful hard on the trees, he said.

There were too many cycles. Trees just dont like that. We didnt even get any blooms this year, he added. The Honeycrisp apple is a cross between a Macoun and a Honeygold. It was developed in the University of Minnesotas apple breeding program, in an effort to invent winter-hardy trees capable of bearing high quality fruit.

In 2006, the apple was named the Minnesota state fruit, because of its taste and popularity but also because it helped revive a declining apple growing industry. That same year, it was chosen by the Better World Report as one of the top 25 innovations in more than a decade. But if you think the Honeycrisp is CALORIE COUNTER JIM BRANDAU OWNER, BRANDAU FARMSTAND all that, just wait. Off in the distance, another even sweeter variety awaits. Also developed by the folks at the University of Minnesota, the SweeTango is the child of the Honeycrisp and the Minnewashta, which is sold under the brand name Zestar! But if you want this baby, youll have to do some driving.

Right now, theyre only available in Minnesota. Road trip, anyone? in one Affy Tapple, The Original Caramel Apple 1207 TO GET A HOLD OF US Contact our foodie, Donna Vickroy at (708) 633-5982 or dvickroysouthtownstar.com 1 a a rsAfcca a ssczrsa ta rr: 4x3.